The world’s number one chess champion has put his cards on the table and announced his decision to not defend his crown in 2023.

In the debut episode of our brand new video podcast ‘The Magnus Effect’ Magnus Carlsen, together with best buddy Magnus Barstad, revealed the clear answer to a question that has been circulating in the world of chess for some time; Will he defend his world championship title for yet another year? The answer is a definite no.

“It is correct that I was in Madrid and met with the FIDE management in connection with the end of the Candidates tournament,” Carlsen said.

“I had no demands, nor did I have any suggestions – I was there to tell them that I would not be defending the title in the next world championship.”

This is a truly monumental decision for someone who has won the world championship five times, and who has held the world chess champion title since 2013.

“We did have a small discussion. They came with a few suggestions – some of them I liked, some of them I didn’t,” he added.

“However, my decision stands. This is a conclusion I am comfortable with, and a decision that I have thought a lot about for a long time, for more than a year and a half. I’ve spoken with people from the team, I’ve spoken with FIDE, and I’ve spoken with Ian, and I have told them that I am not motivated to play yet another world championship game.”

In this first ever episode of the sports and betting podcast Carlsen goes into detail about the background and reasoning for the decision that has occupied the minds of countless chess enthusiasts around the world.

The 31-year-old does not exclude the possibility of ever returning to the world chess championship, and makes sure to emphasize that he will stay active within chess outside the context of the world championship.

He has a multitude of games ahead of him – currently in the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb, and subsequently he will go on to represent Norway in the 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 in Chennai, followed by the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami.

In the premiere of “The Magnus Effect” you will also get a retelling of how both Carlsen and Barstad experienced WSOP – the world’s largest poker tournament – in Las Vegas.

Both Magnuses will also share some of their Premier League betting predictions, their dietary preferences, how faking it until you make it is an acquired skill, how many times it is possible for the world’s best chess player to lose his room key in a Vegas hotel, and much more!

Check out episode one in full here: